Trees

While I was working at UC San Diego earlier this summer, I’d often hear some music (country style, usually) wafting over the trees as I was walking home. For about a month, I never really had any idea where it was coming from – I assumed that it was maybe from the bar or the faculty club, but neither explanation made any sense because they were too far away.

Anyway, someone eventually explained to me that the music was coming from a tree. The Singing Tree, which was in the middle of the mini-forest that I walked past every day, was made out of metal. I expressed the opinion that this was a bit peculiar, and was then told that the Tree had two siblings – the Talking Tree, and the Silent Tree, which were both also metal. Apparently the Talking Tree has startled more than a few freshers in the middle of the night by randomly quoting poetry.

The three Trees look pretty realistic, other than being metal, which is why I managed to walk past them for a month without them registering on my mind. Here’s a photo of the Singing Tree, and the Silent Tree. The Trees’ strangeness hasn’t escaped otherse – here’s a cartoon someone drew about them.

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What are the 100 objects that future historians will pick to define our 21st century? A javelin thrown by an 'enhanced' Paralympian, far further than any normal human? Virtual reality interrogation equipment used by police forces? The world's most expensive glass of water, mined from the moons of Mars? Or desire modification drugs that fuel a brand new religion?

A History of the Future in 100 Objects describes a hundred slices of the future of everything, spanning politics, technology, art, religion, and entertainment. Some of the objects are described by future historians; others through found materials, short stories, or dialogues. All come from a very real future.